Spain's Tax Agency Confiscated Income From Several Debt-Stricken Football Clubs

Spanish tax agency AEAT "has recouped €132.9M ($169.5M)" from several clubs in Spain's top two football divisions since the start of the year, according to the EFE. According to AEAT officials, Spanish clubs still owe the agency around €700M ($892.8M). The strategy for the AEAT in relation to the football sector is to "prevent the debt numbers from increasing while reducing the already existing ones" (EFE, 11/6). BLOOMBERG's Alex Duff reported that back in April, the European Commission said that it was examining whether Spanish clubs were "improperly receiving state aid under agreements that delay tax payments." During the same time period, La Liga club Atletico Madrid CEO Miguel Angel Gil said in an interview that the club was paying €15M ($19.1M) a year of a €115M ($146.7M) tax debt. On Wednesday, Gil said that the club was not one that had seen its income seized by the AEAT, adding it had "met all its tax repayment deadlines." An AEAT official was questioned regarding which clubs had revenue seized, but said that he could not "comment on individual cases" due to government policy. Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy said that "football clubs are going to pay their tax debts like everyone else" (BLOOMBERG, 11/7).